Sheet finishing apparatus



2 Sheets-Sheet 1 H. T. BATTIN SHEET FINISHING APPARATUS INVENTOR. fif/Ffllfi r. 54/7/4 KIA/lat 6:- (WM ATTORNEY- Oct. 17, 1950 Filed F0), 10, 1948 17, 1950 H. T.- BATTIN SHEET FINISHING APPARATUS 2 Sheets-SheetZ Filed Feb. 10. 1948 ATTORNEY Patented Oct. 17, 1950 2,526,318 SHEET FINISHING APPARATUS Harold T. Battin, Ridgewood, N. J., assignor to United States Rubber Company, New York,

N. Y., a' corporation of New Jersey Application February 10, 19 18, Serial No. 7,381

This invention relates to sheet finishing apparatusadapted to impart a desired finish to paper, fabric and plastic coated sheets, and more specifically the invention relates to a rotating finishing drum which is continuously heated in one zone and cooled in another zone to thereby subject an advancing sheet in contact with its outer surface to pronounced temperature changes.

It is old to pass fabric around a hot ironing roll, and to pass fabric, paper and other sheet 4 Claims.

drum may be used to continuously dry, smooth andcool the sheet being treated; or it may be employed to dry and smooth a coated sheet of paper or fabric and then cool the same before it leaves the drum. The present apparatus, however, is particularly well adapted for use to gloss paper; that is, to impart a high gloss finish to paper that carries on its face a film of thermoplastic material. In order to impart a high gloss finish to such paper it has been the practice heretofore to heat and then cool the paper in a platen press so that the thermoplastic coating upon the paper will be softened by the heat of the platen to take the smooth mirror-like impression of the platen face, and the platen is then cooled sufficiently to set the thermoplastic material while it remains in intimate molding contact with the platen. In this manner a high gloss finish can lose acetate, vinyl chloride-acetate or other plasties.

The apparatus of the present invention may be'employed totreat a continuous sheet of indefinite length by passing such sheet around the major portion of a heated and cooled rotating drum, or such apparatus may be employed to treat successively short sheets such as paper sheets one or two feet long. The present apparatus is so constructed that the temperature changes produced in the drum surface can be effected while the drum is rotated at a substantial speed so as to increase the output of such finishing machine.

In some cases the sheet material being treated can be maintained in the desired intimate contact with the heated and cooled drum by simply looping the sheet about the drum under relatively high tension, but in many cases it is desirable to employ an endless belt which is adapted to embrace 'a major portion of the drum surface,

and introduce the sheet to be finished between the drum and such endless belt so that the latter will hold the sheet in intimate contact with the drum surface, This latter construction is essential if short sheets such as individual sheets of paper are supplied to the drum one after the other to impart the desired finish to each sheet.

A primary object of the present invention is to provide continuous means for heating and then cooling a coated sheet so that its surface will be softened sufficiently to take the imprint of the drum surface and then hardened sufiiciently to retain this imprint when it is stripped from the drum. More specific objects are to provide good practical means for rapidly heating the drum surface as it rotates through one zone and to cool such surface rapidly as it moves through another zone; to provide a heater outside of the drum and a heat reflector inside of the drum; to provide a cooling liquid such as water that lies in direct contact with the inner wall of the drum to be cooled, and to provide suctionor blast means for releasing the sheet from the drum surface when it tends to adhere thereto.

The above and other objects of the sheet finishing apparatus of the present invention will be further understood from the following description when read in connection with the accompanying drawings; wherein,

Fig. 1 is a vertical sectional view through one type of apparatus that is constructed in accordance with the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal, vertical sectional view through the heated and cooled drum of Fig. 1 and associated parts.

Fig. 3 is an end view of a modified construction of the heating'and cooling drum in which the tension of the sheet being treated is relied upon to hold such sheet in intimate contact with the drum.

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 1 showing a modifled construction in which the heating elements are disposed inside of the rotating drum rather than outside of such drum as in Fig. 1; and

Fig. is a vertical sectional view of still another modification in which the endless belt surrounding the heated and cooled drum, rather than the drum itself, provides the desired smooth molding surface.

The continuously heated and cooled drum which constitutes an essential portion of the present invention may vary extensively as to size and shape, but should have a relatively thin outer wall so that such wall may be heated and cooled quickly. Figs. 1 to 4 inclusive the drum which is formed of metal has the cylindrical outer wall H] and end walls II and E2 to thereby provide a closed cylindrical receptacle capable of retaining water W or other cooling liquid in the lower portion thereof. This drum as shown in Fig. 2 is rotatably mounted upon a fixed central shaft [3 which sha-t'is supported by the upright brackets 14 and I5. The drum is shown as having secured to its end wall ii a gear !6 or a sprocket wheel, whereby the drum is, i i, 52 may be rotated at the desired speed.

The drum is preferably has a smooth polished outer surface that engages the sheet to be finished and the upper portion of the drum lying above the fixed supporting shaft i3 is heated by suitable means such as a gas fiame' or electric heating elements. In accordance with the disclosure of Fig. 1 the drum wall It disposed above the central supporting shaft i3 is heated by a number of electric heating elements ll disposed near its curved outer surface. In order to increase the speed at which these heating elements ll will heat the drum wall iii a curved metal reflector I8 is mounted inside of the rotating drum If! to reflect heat back against the drum surface. The reflector is supported in a non-rotating position by the brackets l9 and that are secured to the fixed central shaft it. The reflector l8 as shown in Fig. 1 is semi-cylindrical in shape and carries at its lower edges the wipers 2i and 22. The purpose of the wiper 2i is to wipe water from the rising inner surface of the drum H3, and the wiper 22 serves to help keep the inner face of the drum cleaned and polished so that itmay be heated and cooled rapidly.

If the water W is to reduce the temperature of the drum it! quickly its temperature should be prevented from rising appreciably, and the easiest way to accomplish this is to maintain a continuous stream of water passing into and out of the drum. To accomplish this the central shaft i3 is made hollow and one end of this shaft has secured thereto a water supply pipe 23 leading from any suitable source of cold water, and the water supplied by this pipe is discharged downwardly within the drum from the outlet opening 24 of the shaft 13. In order to remove water from the rotating drum a fixed pipe 25 extending downwardly from the shaft it is'provided. This pipe as shown terminates near the lower face of the inner drum wall and the pressure of the air confined in the drum above the water W is relied upon to force water upwardly within the pipe 25 into the discharge passage 26 formed within the shaft l3 and which passage is connected to the downwardly extending discharge pipe 27. As a result of this construction cold water may be sup-plied within the drum is at the desired rate by the inlet pipe 23, and removed therefrom when the water has risen (30.2...(16Silfidi; level and has In the constructions shown in.

4 compressed the air in the drum sufiiciently to force the water up the pipe 25 and out through the passages 26 and 21.

In the construction shown in Fig. 1 an endless belt 28 is provided to hold the sheet material to be finished in intimate contact with the surface of the drum it). This belt 28 is made of woven asbesto fabric or other material which 'will not deterioraterapidly under'the heat-supplied by the coils ll. It passes around the idler rolls 29, 30

and 31 positioned so that the belt 28 will be looped about a larger portion of the drum if! as shown. The sheet S to be finished may be supplied by thelet-off roll 32, and as it is unwound from this roll it travels in the direction indicated by the arrows about the roll 3! and then backward in a reverseddirection between this roll 3! and a feed roll It then contacts the surface of the drum Hi and'is held in intimate contact therewith by the looped portion of the endless belt 28. This sheet S in the, construction shown'passes almost entirely around the drum is soas to remain in contact with the lower'portion of the drum that is cooled, as well as in engagement with the upper portion of the drum that is heated. I

Should the sheet S'tend'to cling to the surface of the drum it itycan be pulled away from the surface of the-drum by a vacuum pipe 34 which is positioned to act upon the sheet S through the porous endless belt 35 that travels around the supporting rolls 36 and 37. This belt 35 will serve to advance the sheet S past the vacuum suction means 35 after this suction means has pulled the sheet free from the surface of the drum iii. The glossed or finished sheet S then passes partly around the roll 3'5, andsince it is now cooled it may be wound directly upon the take-up packa e 38.

It will be seen from the construction disclosed in Figs. 1 and 2 that the sheet S to be finished or glossed is held in intimate contact with the surface of the rotating drum it while this surface is being heated todry the sheet S, or soften the surface of such sheet if it carries a thermoplastic film upon its face, and then while the sheet is held in molding contact with-the, surface of the drum it will be cooled by the action of the water W in the drum to a temperature below its softening point. In this case the thermoplastic film on the face of the sheet Swill be given a glossy'mirror-like finish inthe form of the reverse impression of the surface of the drum I0.

In the embodiment of the invention shown in Fig. 3 the drum ill ma be similar in construction and operation to the drum i ll above described, except that'the sheet S is held in intimate contact withthe surface of the drum-by its own tension and the operation of the idler rolls 39 and 48, thereby making the endless pressure belt 28 of Fig. l unnecessary. In this view What may be called anironing roll 4! is shown as pivotally mounted at the outer end of the arms 42 supported to swing about the central axis of the drum It. This roll 4! or a plurality of such rolls may be employed to force the sheet S into intimate Contact with the surface of the drum Hi. It will be understood that the upper portion of the drum HE is heated and the lower portion of this drum is cooled by suitable means such as Shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

In the construction shown in Fig. 4 of thedraw ing the operation is very similar to that disclosed in Figs. 1 and-2, except that in the construction of Fig.4 the electrical heating elements lifiare'disposed inside the rotating drum I 6" as showniand are supported by the non-rotating reflector 44. This reflector is rigidly secured to the fixed drum shaft I3, which shaft also supports the additional reflector 45. Such reflector has secured thereto the wipers 45 and 41. The shaft l3 has extend ing downwardly therefrom the pipe ejector 25 adapted to remove water from the lower portion of the rotating drum This drum has associated therewith the endless belt 48 which passes around the idler rollers 49, 50, and 52 and is looped about a large portion of the drum Ill" so as to hold the sheet S" supplied by the let-off roll 53 in intimate contact with the surface of the drum [6" while such drum is being first heated and then cooled. After this sheet S" has passed approximately three-fourths around the surface of the drum it travels about the roll 52 and is then wound upon the roll 54.

The modification shown in Fig. 5 differs substantiall from that shown in Figs. 1 to 4 inclusive. In Fig. 5 the heated and cooled rotating drum 55 has numerous small holes 56 formed in its outer surface for a purpose to be described. This drum which rotates in the direction indicated by the arrow is heated with electrical heating elements 51 disposed outside of the drum, and a substantial portion of the heat that passes through the drum is reflected back towards the drum wall by the fixed reflector 58. The rotating drum 55 is cooled in the construction shown in Fig. 5 by providing a fixed tank 59 within the drum and which is supported by the fixed drum shaft 60. The arrangement is such that the curved lower portion of this tank in which the water W is confined lies quite close to the inner rotating surface of the and 61. The purpose of providing the holes 56 in the drum 55 is so that if the sheet 8" after being treated tends t stick to the surface of the drum it can be freed therefrom by providing an air pressure trough 68 which is supplied with air under pressure by a pipe 69 leading from the fixed hollow shaft 60. This trough 68 may be supported by the tank 59 .in sliding contact with the inner surface of the drum 55 so that as the aper tures in the drum move past this air pressure trough air will be forced into the apertures 56 under sufiicient pressure to free the sheet S from the surface of the drum. In this construction of Fig. 5 the surface of the sheet 8" to be finished may be positioned so that it will contact the endless .belt 63 rather than the aperture drum 55, so that the finished surface of the sheet will not take the imprint of the aperture 56.

It will be seen from the different embodiments of the apparatus herein described that the present invention may be variously applied, and that if the outer cylindrical wall of the rotating drum is made relatively thin it can be quickly heated, by the mechanism shown, as it passes through the zone lying above its axis of rotation, and quickly cooled as it passes through the zone lying below its axis of rotation, to thereby subject the sheet of paper, fabric or other material contacting its surface to pronounced temperature changes as t e drum rotat-s t rough approximately one complete revolution. Should it be desired to treat short sheets of paper on the present machine: instead of one continuous sheet S such short sheets may be supported on the shelf 16 of Fig. 1.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

1. Finishing. apparatus for subjecting a sheet to pronounced temperature changes while it remains in intimate contact with a moving surface, comprising a metal'drum having an outer surface adapted to be engaged by a sheet, means for rotating the drum with said sheet engaging and traveling with its outer surface, means for quickly heating that portion of the drum surface that is moving through one zone, a curved heat refiector mounted inside of the drum near the heating means, and means for quickly cooling from the inside of the drum a portion of the drum surface that is moving through another zone, to thereby heat and then cool through a wide range the sheet contacting the drum.

2. Finishing apparatus for subjecting a sheet.

to pronounced temperature changes, comprising a closed metal drum having an outer surface adapted to be engaged b said sheet, means for rotating the drum upon a horizontal axis with said sheet engaging a large portion of the drum surface, means for quickly heating that portion of the drum surface that is disposed above said axis, the drum having a cooling liquid confined therein to cool the portion of the drum surface lying below said axis so as to first heat and then cool the sheet contacting the drum, and a wiper supported inside the drum above the liquid to wipe the rotating wet wall surface.

3. Finishing apparatus for subjecting a sheet to pronounced temperature changes while it remains in intimate contact with a moving surface, comprising a metal drum having an outer surface adapted to be engaged by a sheet, means for rotating the drum with said sheet engaging and traveling with its outer surface, means for quickly heating that portion of the drum surface that is moving through one zone including heating elements disposed outside of the drum and a heat reflector supported inside the drum near the heating means, and means for quickly cooling a portion of the drum surface that is movin through another zone, to thereby heat and then cool the sheet contacting the drum.

4. Finishing apparatus for subjecting a sheet to pronounced temperature changes while it remains in intimate contact with a moving surface, comprising a closed metal drum having an outer surface adapted to be engaged by said sheet, means for rotating the drum upon a horizontal axis with said sheet engaging the drum surface, means for quickly heating the portion of the drum above said axis, and means for quickly cooling the portion of the drum lying below said axis including means for delivering a stream of Water into the lower portion of the drum and a fixed hollow scoop for removing'this water from the drum.

' HAROLD T. BATTIN'.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,867,256 Egli July 12, 1932 2,277,426 Wolf et al. Mar. 24, 1942 2,365,678 Butler Dec. 26, 1944 2,442,443 Swallow June 1, 194g 

